A program that can help Granite Staters pay off overdue water bills is closing in September, but there’s still time to apply.
The Low Income Household Water Assistance Program can provide up to $1,500 to pay off past-due water bills and prevent water disconnections.
Residents who make up to 60% of the state median income are eligible for the program – the same requirement as the state’s fuel and electric assistance programs.
Granite Staters can apply for help through their local community action agency.
New Hampshire received about $3 million to help residents with water bills in 2021 under the water assistance program. Funding was available immediately after contracts were signed by Gov. Chris Sununu and the Executive Council in October 2021, but the state just started distributing the money this year, according to a data dashboard from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Josh Elliott, director of Policy and Programs for the New Hampshire Department of Energy, said other COVID-19-focused programs – the Emergency Rental Assistance Program and the Home Owners Assistance Program – were helping cover utility bills until recently.
“With the [Emergency Rental Assistance Program] running at the same time, which covered all past due utilities as well as rent, these funds ended up getting crowded out,” Elliott said, because that program had fewer requirements and covered more kinds of bills.
From January through March, the state served 556 households through the program. Elliott said the Department of Energy is still finishing their reporting on how many households have been served since then.
As of mid-June, the state had about $840,000 remaining in the program, Elliott said.
As the deadline for spending the money approaches at the end of September, Elliot said the Department is making an effort to get the word out. In May, state officials shared model language with the New Hampshire Waterworks Association to include when mailing bills to customers who were more than 30 days late on paying their bills.
Ryan Clouthier, the chief operating officer at Southern New Hampshire Services, said his agency has worked with water providers in their area to connect with people who could be eligible for the program.
He encouraged residents to reach out to their local community action agency to get help with overdue bills.
“Nobody’s on any kind of a wait list or anything for these funds,” Clouthier said. “I’m very confident that we’ll be able to ensure that everybody who applied for the assistance is going to get access to the assistance.”
